Can't take selfies without a front camera? Huawei Honor 7i hands-on experience

On August 20, 2015, the Chinese Valentine's Day, Huawei held a new product launch conference and launched the Honor 7i, a new Honor series product. Compared with the Maimang 4, which was positioned for "younger" users not long ago, the Honor 7i is positioned for female users who love selfies. It is also another phone with a flip camera after the OPPO N3. I got the full network version of the Honor 7i right after the conference.

Unboxing: Flip camera and fingerprint sensor on the left

The packaging adopts Huawei's recent consistent style. Compared with the kraft paper material of Meizu 4, the Honor 7i uses the previous sky blue packaging. The random accessories are the regular card pin, power cord, a screen protector and a protective cover coupon provided by Feibi Workshop, but no headphones are included.

The Honor 7i's camera can be flipped 180 degrees to the top of the screen, similar to the antenna design of the previous monochrome screen era, so that selfies can also enjoy the fill light and high-quality images of the rear camera. At the same time, even in the lock screen state, flipping the camera to turn on the selfie mode is very convenient. However, the setting of the flip camera also makes the body relatively thicker. Combined with the Honor 7i's slightly masculine and not soft enough body design, will it affect the choice of female users in certain circumstances?

As a quasi-flagship product, fingerprint recognition is also an indispensable function. Compared with the previous practice of placing the sensor at the bottom of the front panel or under the rear cover camera, the Honor 7i places the sensor on the left side of the phone, which can be easily touched with the left thumb when operated with one hand. But for the 5.5-inch size, it is a little difficult to unlock with the right hand fingerprint. At the same time, its sensor is positioned too upward, and the touch of the sensor is not clearly distinguished from the body. It still takes some time to find the position when the light is dim. However, compared with traditional fingerprint recognition that can only be used for unlocking, the Honor 7i combines fingerprint recognition with the camera shutter, making selfies easier and avoiding the imaging effect caused by the lens micro-movement caused by clicking the screen.

Configuration: above mainstream, below flagship

Speaking of the configuration of Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor + 2G running combination, how many mobile phones can you think of? Dashen F2, Nubia Z9 mini, OPPO R5, Meilan Note... I believe you have also scrolled through a long list in your mind. Apart from the heating problem, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor + 2G running memory has a very big advantage in cost performance and performance. This time, Honor 7i did not use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor expected by the majority of netizens, but used the upgraded version of 615, 616, which is also the LP architecture. It reduces the main frequency of 4 large cores A53 and increases the main frequency of 4 small cores A53. Although the performance peak is slightly affected, it is better than 615 in daily use, and it is reasonable to solve the heating problem of 615 before. As a mobile phone positioned for female users, Honor 7i adopts this configuration without any black spots. After all, for most people, long standby time without lag is the kingly way, and enthusiasts who often play mobile games are a minority after all.

Compared with other versions, the full network version of Honor 7i has 3G RAM and 32G storage space. The 3100 mAh battery, the more power-saving Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor, and the 1080P screen without blindly chasing 2k allow Honor 7i to be fully played in a day. However, in terms of sensors, Honor 7i still castrates the gyroscope like other thousand-yuan phones. Although the virtual gyroscope technology based on WIFI signals is becoming more and more mature, it still has a certain impact in daily use, such as navigation functions and some racing shooting games that require gyroscope sensors.

Real-life proofs: an expected surprise

As a quasi-flagship phone with its camera function as its selling point, the Honor 7i uses a 13-megapixel Sony back-illuminated lens, with a large aperture of F2.0 and a wide angle of 28mm. During the actual shooting process, it does not experience the problems that are common in mobile phone photography, such as slow focus, high stability requirements, slow imaging, and high noise.

The following sample photos show iPhone 5s on the left and Honor 7i on the right.

Without manual focus, in automatic mode, the Honor 7i's color performance is brighter and closer to the actual scene being observed.

In sunny places, the Honor 7i will be overexposed to a certain extent compared to the iPhone 5s.

Manually focus on the same point, there is almost no difference between the two. After zooming in, the Honor 7i has less noise.

Under indoor light sources, the automatic white balance of Honor 7i is not as soft as that of iPhone5s and appears too bright.

The Honor 7i performs well in night photography, with low noise, fast focus, and soft fill light.

Without a tripod, the Honor 7i can shoot a moving car with slight hand-held shaking without any blurring. Compared with the night shooting capability of the iPhone 5s, it is slightly better.

The same pose and the same angle, the selfie effects of different mobile phones are shown at a glance. The skin beautification function of Honor 7i makes users whiter

Of course, on such a busy holiday, you can also choose to sacrifice yourself and use the beauty function of Honor 7i to bring a bit of beautiful fantasy space to your single colleagues.

Summarize

While domestic mobile phones are engaged in a price war, it also reflects the lack of innovation ability of manufacturers. Public version designs that compete on price, running points, and configuration will eventually lose their market as consumers become more and more familiar with mobile phones. Huawei's Honor 7i, launched this time for personalized feature development, is an attempt. Compared with the OPPO R3 with a flip camera, which is priced at 3999, the Honor 7i's starting price of 1599 is undoubtedly more attractive in the female market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.